Anoiinting Oil to Heal the Sick

 

[1]

Psalm 119:143 Holman Christian Standard Bible

¹⁴³ Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commands are my delight.

 

In August of 2016 I took the Better Than 50 Club to see the San Bernardino County Museum in San Bernardino; I felt bad enough so that I sat down on a bench in the entryway and waited for the group to tour the museum. That is the last I remember. A day or two later Sylvia had me in the emergency room at the Parkview Hospital. It took them three weeks to diagnose my disease—West Nile Virus. That’s the same disease that killed my colleague Charles Teel in five days. Once they knew what it was, they sent me to a Rehab Hospital, where I stayed for another five weeks. While I was there, my memory started to return. My urologist, Edward Yun, came by to see me. “When you get out of here, you need to come by and see me. We’ll start you on prostate cancer treatment!” were his “comforting” words.

After he left, I lifted up my eyes to heaven and queried God, “Why didn’t You let me die with WNV?! Why did You save me for more cancer treatments?!”

The Bible[2] encourages us to have the brethren anoint and pray over us when we are sick. Adventists are loathe to use this anointing and treat it almost as the Catholics do the last rites. However, I determined to follow James’s advice, and several of the church elders made the effort and came over to the Arlington Gardens Care Center and, at my request, anointed and prayed over me. According to His promise[3] God has raised me up.

I realize that there are many occasions when the Spirit of God determines that the best thing to do for some people is to forgive their sins and lay them to rest until His Great Second Coming. As several dear saints have told me, “God must have something He still wants you to do!”

I encourage you, when you are sick, follow God’s command in James 5 and ask for anointing. Let’s give God a chance.

Lord, help us to use the healing advice you have given us in the Bible.

 

 

 

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[1] https://i.ytimg.com/vi/X21O5MfH33s/maxresdefault.jpg

[2] James 5:14 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) “Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.”

[3] James 5:15  “The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will restore him to health; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

Attempt to Discouragement

 

[1]

Colossians 3:2-3

Revised English Bible

Think about the things that are above, not the things that are on the earth, for you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God,

 

In 2016 I survived West Nile Virus. It is generally fatal in people over 60, apparently more so than Coronavirus-19. It caused brain fever in me, and there are five weeks of which I remember nothing, except for a few very vivid hallucinations. I had friends whom it killed in fairly short order. There were many people around the world who were praying for my survival. To this day I don’t know why the Lord chose to let me live.

My urologist visited me twice while I was in hospital with WNV. I don’t remember the first visit. On the second visit I was very lucid. He told me, “When you are well, and up and about, you need to stop in and see me. We need to start treating you for recurrent prostate cancer.”

After he left me, I looked up and prayed, “Why Lord? Why didn’t you let me die while I was so sick with WNV? Why preserve me for chemo and other nasty treatments?” This is one prayer, “Why?” that the Lord has never stooped to answer, at least not for me! His answer to Paul, when he prayed for relief from his “thorn in the flesh,” was “My grace is sufficient for you.”[2] That has to suffice for me, too.

Sometimes I mention my experience to people who express interest. They almost invariably respond with something like, “Well, He must have something more He wants you to do!” Since He hasn’t spelled it out clearly enough for me to read it yet, it’s up to me to follow the preacher: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, or planning, or knowledge, or wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.”[3]

In October during a Deep Calling project at my church, I decided to return to this blog series and published my blog of October 26. In November I started really working on my memoirs of our time at Ikizu in Tanzania in the late 1960s and early 1970s. About the same time I came down with very painful eye problems so bad I couldn’t even read the big “E” on the eye chart. It just might be that the enemy of all mankind was trying to discourage me. My eye sight is returning to normal, so I’ll pursue both the memoirs and this blog until I learn differently.

Thank You, Lord, for sparing me, and thank You for encouraging me to continue with my might until You do lay me in Sheol.

 

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[1] https://earnestwords.com/2011/03/01/glasses/

[2] 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 REB

[3] Ecclesiastes 9:10 REB